It was a cold and windy day. They looked frail.
I wondered at the wisdom of exposing these old warriors to such
bitter elements. I was not prepared for what unfolded. Following the
'maiden' flight (there were four in all), each time I looked at Bill
and Jack, they seemed younger. They were experiencing palpable
rejuvenation. They eventually became as excited as a couple of kids
at Christmas. Neil Lawson

"If all went well," said Kenneth
Lockwood, the secretary of the Colditz Association, a survivors'
group, "The glider would soar for about a mile from a height of about
100 feet down over the town of Colditz, over farmland and finally
over the River Mulde, landing on the far side of the
river."

"The key thing was to cross the river," Mr.
Lockwood said in a telephone interview on Friday. "If they could
clear that they could reach a nearby railroad station, board a train
and make it to Switzerland, which was neutral."

Jack Best, who led the operation to
build the glider, together with Bill Goldfinch, who designed it,
said: "We made it out of anything we could find wooden floorboards
and bedsheets. "We didn't beg or borrow we just pinched it. It was
built right up in the highest portion of the castle and we were
going to launch it by pushing it over the end of the
roof.

The castle was originally built in 1014 as a hunting lodge for the
kings of Saxony. Throughout its history, it has been the centre of
war and siege, and thus rebuilt many times. The castle was completely
destroyed in the 15th century during the Hussite wars. It was then
rebuilt and given as a wedding present to a Danish Princess in 1583.
In 1634 Imperialists captured the castle only to lose it again to
Sweden in 1706. Its role then changed to a prison in 1800 and then a
hospital for the mentally ill in 1828. This is how the castle
remained for over 100 years, until starting its relatively short span
as a prisoner of war camp during the Second World War.

"When we first saw her lift off, it
was magnificent. To see this has made me happy really
happy."